I work for six days a week. The only day i spend time with my child is Sunday hence one fine Sunday we planned for shopping. My child and I got ready and got in to the car from there it started. Yes! His tantrum. In the shopping mall, he was crying and shouting to buy the car which he already had tons of it at home. His behavior aggravated my anger and shout back at him. We both returned home feeling dejected. The whole day went in vain. Neither my child was happy nor i spent qualified time with him. How to handle my child and myself? Help!
This is a common problem faced by the parents in today’s generation. Being mindful helps you to get to grip with the situation. Here evolves the concept of mindful parenting. Mindful Parenting understands the realities of raising a family in our fast paced and often-frenetic world and provides hundreds of easy-to-implement solutions, both for parents and their children, to help them manage stress, create peace, and live happier lives.
What is mindful parenting?
Mindful parenting is all about being aware of the situation, child and the parent themself.. A mindful approach to parenting that helps children and their parents feel happier, healthier, calmer, and less stressed in our frenetic era. Mindful parenting does not mean being a ‘superhero parent’ and is not something you can fail at. It is not as easy as it sounds, it needs practice. You may forget to be mindful, but the second you realize that you are distracted, it is an opportunity to make a different choice- the choice to be present.
Mindful parenting focus on
- Pause- Be in the moment
- Engage- Use curious question
- Encourage- You can do it
- Reflect - Let's talk about it
- Extend - Are you ready for more?
Science behind mindful parenting
Mindful Parenting is a unique program that speaks directly to today's busy families who make up what Dr. Race calls "Generation Stress." Research has shown that mindfulness practices stimulate the prefrontal cortex of the brain. Regular stimulation of this part of the brain helps us feel happier, healthier, calmer, less anxious, less stressed, and makes it easier for us to concentrate and think clearly—the very behavior we are hoping our children will display.
Have a positive attitude and your kids will too
Many parents have questions like why my child do certain things. Why do they struggle to do their work appropriately? Why are they behaving this way?The answer has a lot to do with parent’s own behavior. Unfortunately, kids aren’t just watching the good in you but they witness the example we set unconsciously too. This is especially true of having a positive attitude. Having a positive attitude starts below the surface. It’s not something we can turn on just for our kids. The good news, though, is that when we begin cultivating a positive attitude in ourselves, we get to enjoy many unforeseen benefits, in addition to more positive children.
Respond instead of React
"Stop crying! You're not a baby! You already have lot of cars at home" saying so a parent can easily liberate her emotion and can angrily shout at the child. . The parent's fuming expression and mannerisms are likely to alarm the child. What they will learn in that moment is fear, not to be better behaved. In fact what we are actually modeling for them is out of control and aggressive behavior.
Being mindful allows us to step back from the situation, observe our emotional reaction, take a breath and act in a calmer, more rational manner. In this same scenario, the parent could acknowledge the child's frustration by first looking and dealing with them by staying calm, providing a sense of safety and then, as she calms down changing the topic.
Effective mindful parenting
Being mindful helps parents to be aware of their feelings and thoughts and be responsive to the child’s need, thoughts and feelings. It helps us to manage our emotions and bring in control over it. It allows the parent to stand back from situations and avoid impulsive and immediate reactions. As a result of mindful parenting, the bonding between the parent and the child improves
Parent’s study suggests that positive mindful parenting is related to positive outcomes for kids, it’s hard to know why. It’s about noticing your own feelings when you’re in conflict with your child, learning to pause before responding in anger, and listening carefully to a child’s viewpoint even when disagreeing with it. These skills potentially help preserve the parent-child relationship, while also providing positive role modeling of how to handle difficult situations.
